Handling Harper: Wynne and Notley play different supporting roles

Kathleen Wynne’s recent pre-election outbursts at Stephen Harper bear out a long-standing feud between the Ontario Liberals and the federal Conservatives — a tumult that’s only emphasized this time around by her new Alberta counterpart’s cool response to jabs from Harper.

But Wynne’s volume and NDP Premier Rachel Notley’s cucumber-cool response to the Conservative leader belie more than just personality differences. Like foreign policy tailored for domestic consumption, both premiers have home audiences to play for.

Wynne’s tumultuous relationship with Harper — especially around her bid for a provincial pension plan — is well documented. Wynne wrote numerous pleas to meet with Harper until he finally agreed over a year later. But since that meeting in January, Wynne slammed Harper for obstructing efforts to fight climate change. Now the premier is going one step further by campaigning for Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau.

Notley, on the other hand, won’t actively campaign for NDP Leader Tom Mulcair, even after Harper called her provincial government “a disaster” just one month after Notley welcomed him to the Calgary Stampede. In a French interview, Harper called Alberta’s new NDP government a failed experiment, a disaster uniformly rejected by Albertans. Notley’s response was notable for her unwillingness to retaliate. She said she “rejects the Conservative campaign’s comments about the decisions of the people of Alberta that they made last spring,” adding, that “no matter who wins the next election, I will work as amicably and as co-operatively with them as they will allow.”

Notley’s contrast with Wynne could scarcely be more stark. Two sitting premiers, both with partisan cousins fighting for an office in Langevin Block, but one studiously staying on the sidelines while the other seems impatient to storm the barricades.

Tim Powers, vice-chairman of Summa Strategies, said it’s obvious that Harper and Wynne enjoy battling each other, likely because each sees a set of Ontario voters they can win over by extending the feud.

“They do it because they believe that there’s political benefit for both of them… they’re playing that game,” said Powers.

“There’s been baiting going on and if you cast out your hook with the right bit of bait on it and your subject of bites — that’s not so bad,” he said.

Ian Capstick, managing partner with the progressive public affairs agency MediaStyle and former NDP politicl staffer, agrees that Wynne is inserting herself into the campaign for her own benefit.

“It serves her politically in Ontario for her to battle Stephen Harper. If she could be part of the reason Harper’s turfed from office, in Liberal circles she becomes a hero,” said Capstick.

“She may be playing a very long game… three, four years from now when she faces the electorate again she wants something to show for it and heck, if she doesn’t get a Liberal government, maybe there’s something else she can do,” he added, suggesting that Wynne could have federal politics in mind.

Notley is in a much different position, said Capstick, because she isn’t trying to please the federal NDP.

“It’s not her job to make the federal NDP happy, to make candidates happy, it’s not her job to make Mulcair happy. Her job is to get re-elected four years from now and she might have to position herself against a Mulcair government — not unlike Wynne against Harper, although it might be friendlier,” he said.

“She’s in a brand new government whereas Wynne — her government has been there for quite some time, it’s much more established. Notley has to focus on Alberta, not running a federal campaign,” concluded Capstick.